Wait…what in the tarnation is this?

No, your eyes are not deceiving you! It's a PS (Ron's end of the rope) update! Hopefully, one day I can actually get this fic finished, but until then, I hope you guys enjoy the updates whenever inspiration hits! :)

This is just a quick chapter of the summer before Ron's final year of high school. If my calculations are correct, there are only about two to three chapters before we get to the prom part of the story, which is, of course, the most exciting part (at least in my opinion)

Enjoy!

oOo

The summer after his seventeenth birthday passed by way faster than Ron would have liked. Those fleeting months brought on a lot of changes, some wanted, and some not. For one, he had an actual paying job and was kept pretty busy, working four to six days a week. Getting a job had been an easy decision, and it had been all too perfect when he'd seen the help wanted sign at the local auto shop that was located right outside his neighborhood. Ron had always enjoyed tinkering around with car engines, a habit of his dad's he'd inherited and was now immensely grateful for. For once in his life, he didn't have to count on the measly amount of allowance his parents gave him if he managed to keep his room clean and his grades above a C. One of the best perks was that he was also able to spend it on whatever he wanted, and even better, he could pick up random gifts for Hermione just because, the smile on her face when he gave them to her making every ounce of work worth it.

Though he enjoyed his job, the worst part about that summer was the fact that he didn't get to see Hermione nearly as much as he wanted to. She had enrolled in several summer classes, and like him, she also had a job. She worked at the on-campus bookstore at her university, and would spend hours there after her last class of the day. As crazy as Ron thought it was for her to take on so much, Hermione insisted on keeping busy. While he could understand the summer classes, he couldn't really understand her incentive to get a job. Hermione was an only child, and as such, money had always been handed to her, no questions asked, her parents eager to dote on their excelling daughter. When Ron expressed that he couldn't fathom why she would want to work when she didn't have to, Hermione explained that working made her feel a sense of responsibility, and she also said something about wanting to learn how to 'make her own way in the world'. Ron still didn't get it, but honestly, he'd given up trying to understand Hermione a long time ago and loved her just how she was (as if he really had any choice in the matter over whether he was in love with her or not)

It was nearing the end of summer, and Ron was feeling rather melancholy. In the past, summers had always been his and Hermione's time. Before, they'd had day after day after day of nothing to do except spend time with each other. Ron desperately missed this, and even though he saw and spoke to her often, it wasn't enough, especially when comparing it to summers' past. It was a Wednesday afternoon, and he'd just pulled his old, not-always reliable car up into his driveway after getting off work. Hermione had gone to class, but she hadn't worked that day and was already home, something that was confirmed when he saw her car parked in her driveway.

After a quick trip inside his own house to wash up (he had 'mechanic hands' after all) Ron decided to head next door to see what she was up to. Neither of her parents were currently home, which wasn't uncommon, so Ron opened the front door without knocking and headed up to Hermione's room. When he made it upstairs, he saw her door was open, and she was sitting at her desk, scribbling something into a black notebook. Placing his hands on either side of the door frame, he stood there and smiled to himself as he watched her. She was so enthralled with whatever it was that she was writing about that she was entirely oblivious to his presence. "Hermione Jean," he finally sang out once he figured he'd creepily stared at her for long enough.

Hermione let out a small squeal before spinning around in her chair to face him. "Why do you always do that, Ron?" she admonished, her eyes wide. "You know I scare easily!"

Ron only rolled his eyes as he strolled towards her. "I do know you scare easily, which is why I called your name instead of screaming it." He winked at her. "If I had wanted to scare you, I would have been much more successful than that."

"I suppose you're right," Hermione relented as she turned so that her back was once again facing him. "How was work?" she asked.

"It was work," he answered as he took a few steps so that he was standing directly behind the back of her chair.

Hermione's eyes closed as he reached down and started to massage her shoulders. "Your fingers are magic, Ron," she sighed as he worked the knots out of her tense muscles.

"Oh, you have no idea," Ron said with a grin, "just how amazing these fingers can be when applied to certain parts of the body."

"I would chastise you for being crude if you weren't drawing the weeks' worth of stress out of my body," she said, her eyes still closed. "You could get away with saying almost anything right now and I simply wouldn't care."

"Hmmm," Ron hummed. "I was thinking we could have a bonfire soon."

Hermione leaned her head back, her eyes opening as she blinked up at him. "A bonfire?" she slowly repeated.

"Well, yeah," he replied in a cheery voice. "It would be all too easy to make one. You have plenty of books we can use for kindling and-"

"Why, you!"

Ron squealed as Hermione squeezed his side where she knew he was most ticklish. "You said anything!" he said between laughs. "I was just testing to see how much I could get away with!"

"I should have known better." She rolled her eyes and stood up to stretch. "So, what now?" she asked.

"We could go on a walk," he suggested.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "A walk?"

"Just a stroll around the block? Maybe hit the park, too?"

She shrugged. "Alright," she finally said. Ron loved that about her. Even though it was obvious she wasn't too keen on the idea, she'd relented just because he'd asked. Even if his feelings of love weren't reciprocated, Ron knew Hermione loved him in her own way, and that made him happier than words could ever express.

After putting their shoes on, they headed outside together and started making their way down the sidewalk. "I feel like I haven't spent any time with you all summer," Ron admitted. "Yeah, we see each other every day, but it's not the same." He sighed. "I miss having nothing to do except spend time with you."

"Wow. You're talking in your serious voice. You must really actually mean it," she teased.

Ron reached out and poked her shoulder with his finger. "Don't take the mickey."

She laughed. "I miss you too, you know. As crazy as that sounds, because you're right, we do get to see and talk to each other every day, but it isn't enough."

"Merlin, how are we ever going to cope once we grow up and move away from each other?" he moaned. "I'll be forever miserable!"

Hermione frowned. "I have no idea. I can't imagine life with you not living right next to me."

"Okay," Ron declared loudly. He did not want to think of that gloomy future just yet. "No more of this sad shit." He reached out and took Hermione's hand in his. "Let's talk about something happy."

"Okay," she answered, a smile lighting up her face. "Like what?"

Lifting his free hand, Ron placed his index finger on his chin as he gazed up at the clear, blue, sky. "I dunno," he contemplated, letting out a small chuckle. "I got nothing."

"Nothing at all?" she pressed.

They were passing the park now, and Ron peered over Hermione's head to look around. There were a few kids on the swings and play equipment, but the splash pad was deserted.

"Hermione," he said excitedly. "Let's go play at the splash pad."

Giving him a look as if he were mental, Hermione shook her head. "The splash pad? Seriously, Ron, we aren't eight."

"Come on," he pressed. "Stop being a stick in the mud! It'll be fun!"

He saw in her eyes the moment she took his words as a challenge and knew he had won. "Fine."

Taking off at the same time, they ran towards the water that was coming up from the ground in various patterns all over a circular and colorful rubber surface. Because his legs were longer, Ron reached the water first, and he laughed as he immediately got soaked.

"Amazing!" he yelled. He turned around to see Hermione racing behind him, a smile on her face even as her features scrunched up in preparation to get wet. As soon as she hit the water, she screamed, and Ron ran and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her further into the middle of the circle.

"Ron!" she sputtered. "That's not fair!" Before he could react, she had slipped out of his grip and backed herself away from him, her eyes lit up with amusement.

"Oi!"

Hermione stuck her tongue out, and the game was on. Every move she made, Ron mirrored, trying his best to catch her as she kept herself just out of arm's reach. It was a blast, and an added bonus was getting to see the way her wet shirt clung to her chest, especially when she darted from left to right, laughing hysterically as she attempted to dodge him.

"You can't escape me, Hermione," he said as he easily kept up with all of her movements. "S'not gonna happen." He sputtered as the small circle directly underneath him came on and water went up his nose. Taking the opportunity as he coughed, Hermione tried to run around him. Still sputtering, Ron let out a loud growl and lunged, his long arms just able to reach her waist as she tried to maneuver out of his grasp. "That's bloody cheating!" he complained, but the grin was still plastered on his face, much like the way his hair was plastered to his head.

She found it funny as well, because she erupted into a fit of giggles, giving Ron the pause he needed to pull her to him. Her laughter ensued as he shook his head, causing his wet hair to fling water in her face.

oOo

"So. Senior year. That's exciting."

"Woo hoo," Ron retorted in a sarcastic voice.

They were laying side by side on their backs in the grass, their hair and clothes still wet from the earlier escapade.

"Honestly," he said, "I just want to bloody graduate and get school out of the way. Forever."

Hermione rolled to her side to look at him, her head propped up on her hand. "What do you see yourself doing? I mean, eventually?"

Ron frowned. Truthfully, he hadn't thought too much about it, especially as of late. With Hermione being in university and planning to move to a dorm in about a year, the concept of the future only made him feel anxious, so he tried not to think about it too much. As far as a career, he still wasn't sure. While he enjoyed working at the auto shop, he didn't think of it as a forever thing, but didn't have any ideas outside of that. "I dunno," he said slowly. "I'm not like you, Hermione. I don't have everything planned out." The words came out a little bitter and Ron instantly felt guilty as Hermione's face fell. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean it to be an insult, I just-" he paused. "I'm jealous of you, that's all. You're always so put together. You know what you want and it just seems so easy for you. For me…well, it's not like that, I can tell you that much."

"You'll figure it out, Ron," she said in a soft voice. "I've told you before, and I'll tell you again- over and over if I have to- but you don't give yourself enough credit."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered.

"You don't have to have it all figured out yet."

"Says the person who is already in college at seventeen."

"I'm almost eighteen," she quipped. "Besides, as you so bluntly put it earlier, you aren't like me, we aren't the same. But Ron, I'm glad. It's the differences between us that make me-" she stopped, her eyebrows drawing together in a way that made Ron know she was internally searching for the right words. "You're you, and I wouldn't want you to be anyone other than who you are," she finished.

Ron let out a loud groan. "That was the cheesiest thing you have ever said to me! What's next? Are you and an animal sidekick going to break out into song and tell me that all I have to do is look deep into my heart to find all the answers to life?"

She laughed. "I would, but I'm a terrible singer, and it doesn't seem as if I have an animal sidekick to spare."

They smiled at each other, but Ron noticed Hermione's teeth chattering. The sun was going down, making the surrounding air much colder than it had been before. He stood up before reaching down to take hold of her hand and hauling her to her feet. "Let's get back," he said. "I think we could both do with a hot shower and a dry change of clothes, don't you? Plus, I'm starving."

"Right," she agreed. "It is getting pretty cold out here."

They headed back towards their homes, conversation light. Her parents still weren't home, so after she showered at her house and he showered at his, Ron used the pulley to invite Hermione to his house for dinner, an invitation she was always eager to accept. He knew she liked his family dinners, as loud and as obnoxious as they were. After dinner, it was still pretty early, so Hermione suggested a movie night at her house and they headed there. Ron leaned against her kitchen counter as she popped a bag of popcorn into the microwave, and once it was finished, he helped her empty the bag into a large bowl.

They settled down onto the sofa, the bowl of popcorn resting in Hermione's lap. She'd chosen some kind of documentary for them to watch, and the beginning of the movie failed to capture his attention. Now bored out of his mind, Ron looked over at Hermione from the corner of his eye to see her eyes glued to the screen, obviously enraptured with the film. Frowning, he tried again to get interested, but once more he felt himself drowning in boredom. Picking up a piece of popcorn, he flicked it towards Hermione, the kernel bouncing off the side of her head. She turned to look at him, frowning when he did nothing but smile and shrug. "Sorry," he told her, but truthfully, he was anything but. A few minutes later he repeated the action, this time, the popcorn bouncing off Hermione's cheek before rolling down her chest and back into the popcorn bowl.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sounding annoyed.

He grinned sheepishly back at her. "Hermione, no offense, but this movie is boring as hell."

"What? It's one of my favorites!"

"Clearly not one of mine," he replied. "Besides, I just wanted to play with you."

Hermione laughed out loud. "Play? What's with you today?"

"I'm a playful boy," he said, his lower lip sticking out in a pretend pout. "I need you to entertain me!"

She laughed again, her left hand reaching out to entangle in his hair so that she could scratch his scalp. "You're so ridiculous. You know that, right?"

"And I'll continue to be ridiculous if it gets your attention like this," he hummed, his eyes closing as her nails continued their task. "Feels fucking amazing."

She removed her hand from his head. "Language, Ronald."

Chuckling, he picked up a handful of popcorn and tossed it in her face, Hermione gasping at the action. "The audacity, Ronald Weasley!" she admonished.

Instead of replying, Ron threw another handful of popcorn at her. To his surprise (and delight) Hermione then took the entire bowl and poured it over his head, causing them both to howl with laughter. They started picking up pieces from the sofa and the floor, tossing them as if they were tiny weapons, rather than little pieces of popcorn.

"What on earth is going on here?" Mrs Granger's voice interrupted. Having just now arrived home, she entered the room, her eyes taking in the mess they'd just made.

"Sorry, Mum," Hermione said before Ron could get a word of his own in. "We were just playing."

"Well, I hope you aren't expecting me to clean all this up."

"Sorry, Mrs Granger," Ron apologized. "I promise we'll pick up every last piece."

Hugh Granger walked in behind his wife, his eyebrows raised as he took in the scene. "I'm not even going to ask," he said. Hermione's father arched an eyebrow at Ron. It was obvious, and had been obvious for a while now, that the older man knew, or at least suspected, of Ron's feelings for Hermione. What he would do with this knowledge, Ron wasn't sure, but for the most part, Ron trusted that Hugh wouldn't say anything to anyone.

Her parents headed upstairs. Ron stood up. "Well," he said as he gave a dramatic stretch, his arms going high above his head. "I'm knackered, so I think I'll just go ahead and go on home."

"You will not," Hermione said sternly. "You are going to help me clean this mess that we made together. The mess that you started, by the way."

"Are you accusing me of something, Hermione?" he teased. "I would never do such an immature thing like start a popcorn war! Just the idea is preposterous and I am deeply, deeply offended."

She rolled her eyes. "Be offended all you want, Ronald, but you're not leaving until it's clean."

"Ronald, huh? I must be in trouble."

"When are you not in trouble?"

He smiled. "Good point."